In My Life
by jerrysgirl67
Summary: Bella just moved into her dream place in Chicago...only one problem...she's not alone. With the help of the resident ghost, a centenarian and her neighbors jerk of a brother, she learns about life and love. E&B, E&OC, A&J, Em&R AU No Vamps
1. Chapter 1

I own none of the characters. I just came up with this little story while I was getting my car fixed. :)

Do you believe in ghosts? If you would have asked me 6 months ago, I would tell you that you were full of it and to leave me alone. But I, Isabella Marie Swan, I now believe in ghosts. My ghost story is better than any campfire tale meant to scare you stiff. No, my story is about love, a love that transcends time and matter...a love that truly lasts forever. This is my story about Isabella and Edward. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Get the hell outta my way! Stupid asswipe...geez!!!" I hate, hate, HATE driving in this city.

I was on my way to a quiet hamlet hidden in the depths of Chicago's city limits. A beautiful neighborhood full of history and turn of the century homes, perfect for a writer's imagination to run wild. I recently decided it was time to for me move off campus and into a place that would allow me peace and quiet. The residence halls were far too distracting, with people coming and going, music blaring at all hours of the night, lovers fighting in the halls. I grew up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest with my father, so needless to say, I couldn't stand the constant noise. Fortunately my dad stashed away money in a college fund and I got a full ride scholarship to school, so I was able to use the money for a deposit on a duplex and some furniture. At 21, with my own place, I finally feel like an adult!

Pulling up to a brick, two story Victorian house, I spotted the landlord waiting for me on the porch. Getting out of my car, I waved at the lady with wavy brown hair.

"Hello Bella!"

"Hi Mrs. Cullen. I'm so sorry, traffic was horrendous. Have you been waiting long?"

"What have I told you, call me Esme. Mrs Cullen is my mother in law. And don't worry about me, I was using this opportunity to visit my daughter and her fiancee. They live in the lower level apartment, and judging by how excited Alice was, you will probably have visitors before the night is over." Esme laughed. I swear the woman didn't look a day over 30, and she is talking about a grown daughter? Its either genetics or Botox.

"Would you like to see the place?" Esme smiled at me and daggled two house keys in front of me.

"Of course..." I smiled as we walked in the front door and up the staircase. On the top of the landing was the oak door that lead into my safe haven. Esme handed me the keys.

"I'll let you do the honors"

My eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas as I placed a key in the lock and gave it a turn. Slowly, I placed my hand on the knob and tried to open the door.

"Oh, the door is stuck...a common problem with these old houses. I'll have my son come over and look at it for you. In the meantime, just put a shoulder into it." I looked at Esme and laughed as I shouldered the door open. Unfortunately, the moment I forced the door open, I lost my footing and fell right onto the hardwood floor in the foyer.

"Are you alright?!?!" I sat up laughing, leaving poor Esme with the look of concern on her face.

"I'm fine...trust me, its normal for me to end up on the floor." I got myself to my feet and turned around to look at my new home. The hardwood floors, the light flooding in through the windows, the window boxes full of flowers. It. Was. Perfect.

"The pictures don't do this place justice."

Esme smiled lit up her face. "My grandmother loves this apartment. She says this is the place she feels the most loved and the most at home. She was very picky about the future tenant of this apartment, but her face lit up when she saw your name was Isabella. I think thats what made you a shoe-in for the apartment." The look of confusion spread across my face.

"My grandmother's name is also Isabella, but she goes by Miss Izzy in the nursing home that she now lives in. We had to move her there after she fell and broke her hip about 10 years ago. This place has been empty for that long, but we finally convinced her to rent it out about a year ago, but only under her conditions. For a woman well over 100, we have to allow her to have her way." I chuckled at the statement.

"How old is your grandmother?"

"Dear, she is 105, almost 106, and as sharp as somebody half her age. She has seen so much in her lifetime, she survival the Spanish Flu outbreak, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Sixties, she just has so many great stories to tell. I use to love sitting and listening to her stories about her life. She has already said she wants to meet her namesake when she gets settled."

I laughed. "It would be an honor to meet Miss Izzy, especially since she handpicked me to live in this apartment."

"Well, I will leave you to get settled. If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to call me or let Alice know."

"Thank you Esme...and please thank your grandmother next time you see her." Out of nowhere, Esme pulled me into a hug.

"I will dear, I think my grandmother definitely made the right choice." And with that I was alone in my empty apartment.

I went to haul in a few of my belongings from my car so I could settle in for the evening. I bought an air mattress so I could sleep on a somewhat comfortable surface, my coffee maker, a few dishes, clothing, my laptop...the basic necessities for a single college student. As I was making my third trip back from my car, I saw a petite girl with piece of black hair stick every which way and a tall blonde gentleman come out of the front door.

"Jaz! This must be our new neighbor!" The pixie-like girl came bounding over to my trunk.

"Hi! I'm Alice and this is my future hubby Jasper. We live downstairs from you. Would you like help? Jaz, come help her."

Jasper came over and grabbed one of my suitcases

"Please allow me... Miss?" The pair stared at me.

"It's Bella, nice to meet both of you."

"Oh Bella, the pleasure is all ours. I can tell we are going to be the best of friends." Alice was jumping up and down, clapping her hands with the beat of her feet hitting the ground.

Jasper and Alice helped me carry my remaining belongings up to my apartment. It was nice to have everything up here so I could get as much unpacked before my furniture was delivered.

"We were just about to go get something to eat. Would you like to come with us? Both of my brothers and their girlfriends will be there, so it will be a small, intimate affair that I could show off my new friend."

I shook my head, and the disappointment immediately flashed on Alice's face.

"I would love to, but I am exhausted from packing and unpacking. But to make it up, I'll throw a housewarming party once I get my furniture delivered and I get settled in." Alice's face brightened and she began to jump up and down again.

"Oh my gosh! That is a GREAT idea!!! I'll soooo help plan it with you, I love parties." Good, I didn't lose my good standing with the neighbors.

"Well, we have to run. I'll stop by tomorrow and see if you need any help. Maybe we could go shopping for home decor." Alice waved back at me as she pulled Jasper down the stairs and out the door. As I closed the door, I turned back to survey what I had to bring to the bedroom and what was to be left in the kitchen. I went to pick up a box when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

"What the hell."

I grabbed my cell phone off the kitchen corner and walked down the hall, my heart pounding a million times a minute. Could somebody have snuck in while I was unload my car. It is a city, not a small town like Forks where you left you left your doors unlocked at night. I crept around the corner into the bedroom, but all I saw was my inflated mattress and some suitcases. Leave a girl alone and she starts scaring herself. I laughed at my own stupidity and went back to unpacking. 


	3. Chapter 3

I settled in my makeshift bed after a long day of moving. I grabbed my worn copy of Wuthering Heights out to start reading for what may have been the hundredth time. As I was reading, I was trying to get accustomed to the sounds of an old house. The creaking of the floor boards, the whistle from an unseen crack between the window and frame, the hum and clanking noises of the radiators. The noises working in harmony started to lull me into sleep, so I put my book on the floor and turned out the light. The symphony that the old home played provided a soundtrack for what I assumed would be a restful night.

Before me is a beautiful girl who couldn't be any older than 16, with brown eyes and brown hair in an updo. She couldn't be any taller than 5'2" either. She is wearing a beautiful blue beaded, floor length gown trimmed in brown lace; she's fidgeting with a silver bracelet. The background is coming clearer, its a party, no a ball. The girl rolls her eyes at a nearby group of females gawking in her direction, she turns her head and breaks into a wide grin.

"Isabella."

The dream is getting dark.

"Isabella."

My eyes flutter open from sleep. I lay in bed thinking about the girl, who she was, what she was smiling at. That's when I realized...

"Isabella..."

I shoot up to see a godlike man staring at me, his bronze hair was messy, but you could tell it was styled to lay flat with a part. He was wearing a button up shirt and brown linen pants that were held up by suspenders. But the most striking feature was he was translucent...wait, WHAT?!?!?

I let out a bloodcurdling scream and hurled my pillow at the appearition, causing it to 'POOF' disappear. What the fu....

Judging by the pounding, my heart should have exploded from all the over-extertion.

'It was a dream, Bella! Just a dream.'

Suddenly a shadow appeared in the doorframe of my room. I let out another scream.  
"Bella! Its just us." Another shadow dipped under the arm of the first shadow and Alice's face was in view.

Jasper stepped forward and I could see that he was holding a baseball bat, his eyes scanning the room. Alice came and sat on foot of my bed, concern spread across her face.

"What happened? We thought you were being attacked!"

I sat and stared at the foot of my bed where I had seen the apparition moments earlier.

"Bella?"

"Ghost." It was all I could squeek out.

Alice turned to Jasper, who stared at me dumbfounded.

"See Jaz, I told you this place was haunted. I told you I saw somebody watching me out of the window, but did you believe me? NO!!! You soooo owe me that Gucci bag now Mister!"

Jasper rolled his eyes then looked at me again. "What did it look like, Bella?"

Did they really believe me?

"He was tall, maybe 18ish, reddish brown hair...he was dressed like....well he was dressed...old." My mind wasn't working, so I couldn't explain the spirit's appearance.

"Bella, we have a guest room that you can sleep in and tomorrow we are going to see Ma-Maw and get to the bottom of this." Alice stood up, grabbed my hand and pulled me out of bed. As she pulled me out of the room, I stole one last glance at where the boy stood. 


	4. Chapter 4

Alice was adament about dragging me to see her great grandmother the next morning. She could swear that she had heard voices and doors slamming shut coming from the apartment, and after last night, she was determined to find out who was haunting my apartment.

We walked in the nursing home Ms. Parsons, or as Alice called her, Ma-Maw, lived in. As we walked in, a pretty blonde with purple scrubs greeted us from the nurses station.

"Morning Alice, what brings you in today? You normally don't come in until Saturday." The perky girl looked at her with a perplexed look on her face.

"Business, Jessica. Ma-Maw has to explain something to her new tenant. Oh crap, she's not at bingo now, is she?"

Jessica laughed, "No, but you know how Miss Izzy is when she misses bingo." Alice smiled at that and started to pull me toward the hall.

"Bye Jess! We'll stop and talk later!"

Alice pulled me down the hall, nearly running over the geriatric resident on her quest for answers. She stopped suddenly, but since my feet don't have breaks like hers, I crashed into her tiny frame, send both of us to the floor. I got off of her as fast as I could and held my hand out to help her up.

"Sorry, sudden stopping and my natural clumbsiness are not a good combination. Are you okay?"

Alice started laughing, "No biggy, I'm fine. I guess I will have to keep that in mind for the future. Wait here, I'm gonna let Ma-Maw know that I brought her a visitor." She disappeared into the room, leaving me to survey the hallway.

I noticed an elderly gentleman sitting in a wheelchair outside room a few doors down. Not wanting to be rude, I decided I should at least acknowledge him. "Hi" my little, shy voice squeeked out. His bushy eyebrows shot up and a smirk spread across his face. Maybe he gets ignored a lot. He sat up a little and winked at me.

"Hey there sweet cheeks! Why don't you come have a seat with me." His wrinkled hand patted his polyester clad lap as he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I felt my face becoming redder and redder and I must have had the deer in the headlights look by the time Alice popped her head out the door. She did a double take between my shocked expression and the elderly guy before turning around and shouting at the dirty old man.

"Herold...you old perv, leave her alone! Stop harrassing my family members and go undress some CNA with your eyes." She turned to me, "Ignore him, he's one of those guys that thinks Viagra is the nectar of the gods."

She pulled me into a small, brightly lit room that smelled sweetly of cinnamon. On the hospital style bed was a colorful patchwork quilt with various patterned patches of blue, red and green. All the flat surfaces were covered in picture frames of various sizes and numerous flower vases. Alice leaned in, "My mother brings in fresh flowers at least twice a week."

"You must be Isabella Swan!" My attention was draw to the corner of the room, where a small, frail woman sat in a wheelchair. She looked like a stereotypical grandma, her wrinkled face wearing a huge grin, a spark in her still vibrant eyes and a shock of short, white hair upon her head.

"Yes, Ms Parsons. But please call me Bella...I'm not big on being called by my full name."

The old woman broke down into giggles."Bella it is. But only if you call me Izzy. Ms Parsons makes me feel like an old schoolmarm."

Izzy adjusted in her seat and motioned me closer. "I didn't expect you to visit so soon, but I hear you had an 'incident' last night that scared you. Please tell me, what frightened you so much?"

"Well...um...I was wondering if you ever saw..." I bit my lower lip, debating if she was going to think that I was crazy and kick me out of her precious apartment. Izzy stared at me, opened her mouth before quickly shutting it again. She sat for a moment staring into space before turning and looking straight at me.

"You saw him...you saw the ghost." I heard Alice gasp behind me. Holy shit...I'm not crazy. Wait...holy shit...my apartment is haunted. I heard something that snapped me out that thought. Izzy was staring at me with a huge beaming smile on her face.

"Child, what did he look like?"

"Oh...umm...roughly 6 feet tall, reddish brown hair...ummm...really cute." I smiled at my statement and heard Izzy giggle. "The thing that stands out to me right now is he had some gorgeous eye, like green pools into his soul."

Izzy nodded her head. "His eyes were always my favorite feature of his too. As for the cute part...that is an understatement. He was dead sexy!"

I heard Alice start to cough. Something about her great grandmother saying somebody was "dead sexy" shocked the girl into choking on her own spit.

"Girls...you both have had encounters with Edward Masen, the great love of my life."

"That is so romantic." Alice said in a strangled whisper, trying to regain the use of her voice after nearly choking to death.

Izzy gazed off with a small grin on her face, probably reminicing about her ghostly love. She turned to me and pointed to the bed. "Sit!" Alice and I looked and each other, Alice mouth "You better listen to her." We took our places on top of the quilt.

Izzy started gazing off again. "Girls, have one hell of a story to tell you." 


End file.
